Uber has announced significant changes to its work-from-home policy alongside plans to reduce its global workforce by approximately 10%, amounting to around 3,300 corporate job cuts. This marks a major restructuring effort aimed at streamlining the organisation.
In a message to employees on Wednesday, Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief executive, explained that the company intends to create a “simpler and faster” business by eliminating layers of management and merging teams. He emphasised that while Uber has experienced growth over the past five years, this expansion has increased complexity within the organisation, leading to more layers of management, greater coordination challenges, and fragmented ownership structures.
Mr Khosrowshahi outlined that the restructuring aims to reduce these complexities by making Uber more efficient and by freeing up capacity to invest in the company’s future initiatives. The organisational changes involve combining operational and technology teams, significantly cutting the number of “micro-teams” - where only one or two employees report to a single manager - by nearly half. Additionally, the proportion of employees positioned more than seven layers from the chief executive will decrease by 20%.
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Regarding location-specific impacts, Uber has not detailed how the job reductions will be distributed across its global offices, including its UK base in London. Staff affected by the restructuring have been notified, and local processes will apply in some countries.
Alongside workforce reductions, Uber is revising its remote work arrangements. The company is requesting that the majority of its employees who currently work remotely return to the office, reducing the number of fully remote staff to less than one percent. A hybrid working policy will be enforced, requiring employees to work from an office three days a week.
Mr Khosrowshahi acknowledged that these decisions are challenging but stated they are essential to build a stronger Uber poised for the future.
In related news, Uber is preparing to launch self-driving taxis on UK roads, having partnered with robotaxi company Wayve and obtained approval from Transport for London last month.